TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOB. WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING AT PFC?
My job has evolved a lot since I took over the reins from Pat Burns back in 2013. For several years I was pretty heavily involved in every aspect of the day-to-day operations as well as sales. Over the years we have been fortunate to add really good people to the team. That has led me to a new role of Chief Assistant. I am here to support the team and make sure everyone has what they need to succeed in their role. This works really well when you have a team of great people that care about the Company and enjoy and respect each other. I feel very fortunate to have the team that we have. I believe that everything starts and ends with company culture. We take that seriously at PFC. We live by a set of values and guiding principles that are more important than any individual. The key is to hire people that believe in these values already, it can’t be something that a person has to work hard to adopt when they get here. And because our team has a shared set of values, it makes working at PFC a lot of fun! We are a family and I truly enjoy every person at PFC. We have monthly company meetings and they sometimes get pretty lively. Kind of like a family sitting around the dinner table telling stories and giving each other a hard time and joke back and forth. We have a good time! I have to admit though, I do have a favorite employee. 😊
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO ON YOUR DAYS OFF?
If you ask my wife, it involves golf, golf and more golf. If you ask me, my days off generally involve spending time with family, traveling and (yes) golf. Sometimes it is all three of those at the same time. I coach my son’s soccer team so that takes up most Saturdays in the fall. We have also been spending time up in northern Idaho, which is really beautiful. During the summers in Idaho, we enjoy boating on the lake, golfing, mountain biking, hiking and concerts in the park. In the winter, there is great snow skiing.
WHERE DID YOU GO TO COLLEGE? WHAT IS YOUR DEGREE IN?
I went to Chico State University and got my Bachelor’s degree in Financial Services. Chico was a wonderful college town. Not too big, but not too small. Everyone bikes or walks everywhere and the campus is beautiful.
WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? DO YOU HAVE KIDS? ARE YOU MARRIED?
My family moved from Iowa to Oceanside when I was 5. Iowa is a great place to be from, but I feel fortunate to have grown up in North County San Diego. I spent a lot of time at the beach as a kid. And last time I checked, there are no beaches in Iowa.
I have two amazing kiddos. My daughter Sadie (13) and my son Colby (11). They are both very active and keep us on our toes. I don’t know where the time went, hard to believe our oldest is a teenager. I’m a little afraid of the next few years. I will rely on Diane to translate teenage girl behavior.
I am married to my favorite PFC employee. Actually, our founder Pat Burns, is responsible for that. Pat and I were in a business group called Corporate Finance Council together. After getting to know Pat for a couple of years in that group, she invited me to lunch to discuss “business”. Half way through lunch, she mentioned her daughter that had just moved back to San Diego. Candidly, I was not real excited about that as I had been set up many times in the past and none of them panned out. However, a blind date was in my future and the rest is history. I am glad Pat set up that lunch and I’m very lucky to have married my best friend. We have somehow managed to stay married despite working together in the business for the past 9 years! That’s a tribute to Diane’s patience.
IF YOU HAD A SUPER POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE & WHY?
My super power would have to be the ability to fly. I have been known to walk fast around the office and I’m a stickler for being on time. So, flying would not only be fun, but probably pretty useful for me too. Plus, I could avoid the traffic which seems to be getting worse in America’s Finest City. As a side note, I trained to get my pilot’s license a number of years ago. I didn’t quite finish as life got in the way, but maybe someday I’ll get back into that.
